A sweeping Ukrainian drone assault struck two Russian logistics hubs, killing eight people and leaving dozens wounded as the Moscow region faced a fresh barrage overnight, officials said on Saturday.
More than 370 drones were launched toward the Moscow region during the night, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
“Most were neutralised by air defence forces at distant approaches,” he wrote on the state-backed MAX platform.
Mr Sobyanin added: “64 enemy UAVs were destroyed on approach to Moscow.”
In the Tambov region, Governor Evgeny Pervyshov said seven employees working the night shift were killed when drones struck a Wildberries logistics centre.
“According to preliminary information, 24 people were wounded” in the attack in the town of Kotovsk, he said.
Russian company Wildberries confirmed in a statement that its logistics complexes in Kotovsk and Elektrostal, in the Moscow region, had been targeted.
“The fire that broke out at the facility in Tambov region has been contained”, the company said, while crews continued battling the blaze in Elektrostal.
One person died and 37 others were injured at the Elektrostal warehouse, Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyov said.
Mr Vorobyov also reported a fire “at an oil depot in Noginsk”. Two people were hurt, and a nearby maternity hospital was evacuated “for safety reasons”.
Thick black smoke billowed above the town this morning as several fire engines travelled from Moscow toward the scene.
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Ukrainian forces had struck two major logistics sites in Russia’s Moscow and Tambov regions, along with a Russian oil facility.
Writing on the Telegram app, he said Russia used the logistics centres to obtain sanctioned components for drone manufacturing and navigation equipment.
Mr Zelensky also said Ukraine’s mid-range strikes had reached targets in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.
Russia, meanwhile, attacked Ukraine’s Odesa port infrastructure today, striking a vessel sailing under the Antigua and Barbuda flag and killing one person, regional governor Oleh Kiper said.
Mr Kiper said on the Telegram app that three people were injured, while buildings, storage tanks, warehouses and other infrastructure facilities sustained damage.
US-led diplomatic efforts to halt the war have lost momentum in recent months as Washington has turned its attention toward its conflict with Iran.
